Summer In The Unknown
by Dajokn
Summary: Dipper and Mabel find themselves lost in a different world, one far stranger than Gravity Falls. *This story is now available at An Archive of Our Own, with better pacing and illustrations!*
1. Episode 1: Lost In The Woods

The rising sun shined through the pine needles of the remote forest surrounding the small town of Gravity Falls Oregon, chasing away the night with its radiance. In the bushes and under boughs of trees shadows still lingered in contrast to the bright blue and orange of the early morning sky.

Dipper Pines stood on the run down porch of the Mystery Shack, dressed in his usual blue vest and shorts, and carrying Journal Number Three under his arm. The journal was his most precious possession and it hadn't left his side for the entire summer. The mysterious leather bound book was filled with hand written secrets, codes, and a record of every strange thing in Gravity Falls, and there were a lot of strange things in Gravity Falls. Twelve year old Dipper was ready for an adventure, inhaling the scent of a new day. The air was cool and crisp, heavy with the unmistakable scent of pine and morning dew, and pancakes. This was going to be a good day.

"Hey Dipper come get breakfast!" his Grunkle Stan shouted from inside the shack.

"Coming!" He replied walking into the kitchen. Plates of blueberry pancakes were set out on the table and his twin sister Mabel was already digging in. She was wearing a sweater like she always did. This one was bright pink and featured a unicorn standing in front of a rainbow, it was also covered in a generous amount of shiny glitter.

"I'm going to town to set up some signs to attract tourists" Stan said grinning broadly at them as Dipper sat down to eat. "They're not gonna know what hit their wallets, what are you two doing today?"

This was just the question Dipper had been waiting for, last night he had discovered something really interesting hidden on a page among the blank ones at the end of the journal.

He eagerly opened the book to a hand drawn but nicely detailed map of the woods. It showed paths, creeks, clearings, and caves, some of which they had already explored, and many that they hadn't. In the right top corner of the page the map stopped abruptly as if the original cartographer had erased a section of it.

"See this right here?" he stated, pointing to the empty space "This is where we're going!"

"But there's nothing there" Mabel mumbled, her mouth full of pancake.

"Just because it's not on a map doesn't mean it isn't there" Dipper corrected "The author erased that part for a reason, and I want to find out why"

"It's a really long walk" Mabel sighed theatrically, "but I suppose we can go, since I've got nothing better to do..."

Dipper finished his pancakes quickly. "Lets go!" he said, picking up the journal and heading for the door. He grabbed his backpack and favorite blue and white hat as he walked out into the bright morning. Mabel grabbed her backpack and ran out the door right behind him.

"Be back by sundown!" Stan yelled after them from the kitchen window.

"We will!" Mabel promised as she headed down the path into the forest, towards the unknown.

Dipper and Mabel walked down the narrow forest trail side by side. The trees got thicker as they got deeper into the woods, the foliage cutting off the light from the sky and making it appear as if it was evening, although it was really afternoon.

"How much further?" Mabel asked Dipper, who had his nose in the journal, looking at the map.

"We should be there around this next bend" he replied.

They turned the corner in the path which continued on as it had before, winding into the dark woods.

"Well this is it" Dipper said "We should be right where the map was erased"

"I don't see anything except more woods" Mabel said, sitting down on the small dirt path and pulling some snacks out of her backpack.

"Maybe we just haven't gone in deep enough" Dipper replied "come on, lets keep going"

"Ok"

Mabel stood up and followed, eating a bag of gummy bears as she walked. The path became narrower and narrower as they continued, eventually disappearing in the the underbrush.

"Well that's the end, maybe there was nothing on the map because there isn't anything here"

"No, there was something there" Dipper said pulling out the journal and showing her the page "look the trees are erased right in the middle"

He was right, the blank spot was indeed right in the middle of where trees had once been drawn.

"Lets keep going"

"I don't think thats is a good idea" Mabel said uneasily, she was getting a little worried about the idea of walking through the woods with no path.

"It's ok Mabel" Dipper reassured her "I've got this"

He pulled out a compass and flipped it open. The small metal arrow inside indicated they were traveling north. "See, all we need to do is keep going north then go south when we are ready to head back, piece of cake!"

"Just don't get us lost" Mabel said

"I won't"

The two pushed on silently, elbowing their way through seemingly endless bushes as they made their way further into the forest.

"We should go back now" Mabel said after a while "Grunkle Stan said to be back before dark"

Dipper was starting to get discouraged, he checked the time on his phone, they had been walking in the blank spot for an hour now and there was nothing but more woods, no secret bunkers or lairs of magical creatures.

"Ok, lets go back, I guess whatever was erased from the map is pretty well hidden"

He pulled out his compass. "Oh no"

"What?" Mabel asked worriedly

"This says south instead of north, but that doesn't make sense, we were going in a straight line" Dipper replied, hardly believing what he was seeing. He couldn't say for certain that they hadn't veered in one direction or another, but he was sure they hadn't turned entirely around "It's like the magnetic poles just flipped! How can that be?"

"I don't know, maybe the forest flipped around?" Mabel speculated.

Dipper chuckled at the thought of an entire forest just flipping around, "I'm pretty sure we would have noticed that Mabel, there would have been a huge earthquake or something"

"Well it makes more sense than the magnetic poles shifting!" She replied defensively.

"Actually the magnetic poles shift every two hundred thousand years, maybe that just happens to be today, it's called geomagnetic shift"

"Ok Mr Nerdypants, then how do you explain that!" Mabel pointed at a patch of sky through the tree branches "At least even I know the sun sets in the west!"

The light had shifted some time while they were walking, it was coming through the trees as a hazy orange yellow glow from the deep blue evening sky. The light was coming from in front of them, the south. This took a moment to register with Dipper, but when it did all he could say was. "What?!"

If the poles had shifted, or if the forest had flipped around, maybe the sun would have set on their right, but not in front of them, "The sun doesn't set in the south, not ever"

He now felt completely lost, something was not right here. "This is weird Mabel" he said, panic beginning to creep into his voice.

"You said you wouldn't get us lost!" Mabel said accusingly

"It's not my fault!" Dipper snapped back, "it's just more Gravity Falls weirdness"

"Maybe we can find the path if we go back this way!" Mabel said, turning around and pushing back through the bushes in the direction they had come from. Dipper followed close behind her.

Eventually the brush thinned out, revealing a dirt path with tall grass on either side, winding its way through the woods.

"See! Success!" She exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. "We'll be back in no time!"

Mabel skipped along down the path, leaving Dipper standing at the edge.

"Mabel come back!" he called running after her.

"What?" She stopped and turned around. "We found the path"

"This isn't the path" Dipper explained, "The path we took here was going towards us, not across."

"So we're lost?"

"Yah"

The sun was almost set and the forest on either side of the path was dark under the shadow of the trees, only the path remained lit by the setting sun. Both twins stood silently for a while listening to the evening wind rush through the pine needles. A flight of crows flew across the path, cawing loudly.

"This is scary" Mabel said, sitting down on the ground and pulling her sweater over her head. Dipper sat down next to her, he had never been lost in the woods before and his mind was racing trying to remember how to start a fire. Shelter, first they had to find shelter.

"Come on Mabel" he said standing up and taking her by the hand. He gently pulled her to her feet. "We've got to find somewhere to spend the night, like a cave or something"


	2. Episode 2: Not A Gnome

Dipper and Mabel continued down the path in the twilight. Dipper wasn't sure where he was going, but he was pretty sure they shouldn't stay out in the open, there were mountain lions and a whole lot worse in the woods around Gravity Falls.

The weird south setting sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the path in darkness, and the stars began to twinkle into sight. Ahead of a bend in the path came the sound of footsteps.

"Shhh" Mabel said "Did you hear that?"

The twins ducked into the tall grass next to the path, "What do you think it is?"

The footsteps grew closer and Dipper peeked over the edge of the grass, the tip of a red cone bobbed up and down around the bend. "It's gnomes!" He said tensely.

"Don't let them get me Dipper!" Mabel whispered frantically

Dipper felt around in the dark for a stick, he wished he had leaf blower handy, but this would have to do. He found a sturdy branch as the footsteps drew near their hiding place.

"Leave my sister alone!" Dipper shouted, jumping out of the tall grass brandishing his stick.

"Whoa!" A lanky dark haired boy stumbled back from him, tripping and falling. He was older and taller than Dipper, wearing a blue cape and a pointed red hat.

"You're not a gnome" Dipper said lowering his stick.

"No, I'm Wirt" the teen said, standing up and brushing himself off "Who are you and what did I do to your sister?"

"Nothing" Dipper said "I'm sorry, I thought you were a gnome"

He held out his hand "I'm Dipper Pines"

"Nice to meet you Dipper Pines" Wirt said shaking his hand. "I'm Wirt, and it is Greg"

He looked around but the path behind him was empty.

"Greegg!" Wirt shouted exasperatedly into the darkness. "Where are you!"

A small child stepped out of the grass next to the path. He was chubby and wearing baggy green overalls that made him seem even rounder. A large shiny teapot was balanced upside down on his head.

"Greg? What did I tell you about wandering off like that! You could get lost!" Wirt scolded him.

"Who's this!" Greg asked, ignoring his big brother and focusing on Dipper.

"I'm Greg" he said running up to him "And this is my frog" He pulled out a large bullfrog from inside his overalls and stuck it in Dippers face.

"Ha ha, that's great buddy" Dipper said taking a step back. Mabel came out into the open next to him.

"Hello!" She said, shaking hands momentarily with Wirt and turning immediately to Greg. "You're so cute! What's your frog's name!"

"His name is Jasper" Greg replied

"I thought you said his name was Clarence" Wirt said

"Well it's Jasper now, Clarence was boring"

"If you say so"

"Why are you dressed like that?" Dipper asked Wirt

"Well uh, I'm not really sure. I just am I guess" Wirt replied "you don't look like the sort of people we usually find around these parts either"

"We're lost" Dipper said "we're trying to get back to Gravity Falls"

"We're lost too!" Greg chimed in "we need to go back where we came from"

"Where did you come from?" Dipper asked him, Gravity Falls was the only town for miles.

"I don't know"

"How can you not know?"

"We never do" Greg said with a mysterious affect.

"What does that mean?"

"We just go around and around and around " he said spinning in circles "looking for where we came from, but nobody knows where it is."

"I don't know where Gravity Falls is either" Wirt told Dipper "But I do know there's an inn up this road"

"Oh goodie!" Mabel said "We won't have to sleep in a cave! Lets go!"

The four of them set off through the dark woods up the trail, Wirt and Dipper walking in front and Mabel trailing behind keeping an eye on Greg. Streamers of twinkling white stars shone in the night sky, the moon was full and cast enough light for them to see their way as they walked along.

Dipper watched the stars intently, almost bumping into Wirt a couple times. He tried to make out any constellations or astronomical features he recognized, Orion's Belt, the North Star, and, of course, the Little Dipper. He couldn't find any of them, it was like he was standing in an entirely new world.

The blank spot on the map had definitely been a portal of some kind.

"Where are we exactly" he asked Wirt

"In the Unknown" Wirt replied, "or at least that's what Greg and I call it, since we don't know where this is and we are probably never going to get back to wherever we came from, so it's just the Unknown I guess"

They rounded a corner in the path and out in the distance, in a clearing in the woods, was a large thatched house made of beams and plaster walls. A warm orange glow shined from inside the windows, and white smoke wisped from the tall brick chimney into the moonlight. _There's nothing like this in Gravity Falls_, Dipper thought. It looked like something out of a storybook, it was pretty cool.

"I love it!" Mabel exclaimed "Look how old-fashiony it is Dipper!"

"Yah, it's awesome!"

They hurried eagerly down the stone path towards the inn. A din of voices came from the other side of the tall oak door.


	3. Episode 3: In An Inn

Wirt pushed it open the door to the inn, revealing a room full of at least a dozen men and women. They were dressed sharply in collared shirts and trousers held up by brightly colored suspenders. The women wore dresses and bonnets of various sorts, and all were merrily chatting as they drank ale from large wooden cups.

A hot fire burned in the massive stone fireplace in the back of the the room as a servant in an apron hurried dishes to and from a door next to it. A flight of rustic stairs ran up to the second story.

"Come on in young'ns" Said a portly red faced man with a handlebar mustache seated nearest to the door. He stood up wobbly, clearly somewhat drunk.

"I'm Tomas, the proprietor of this establishment!" he guffawed, wiping his hand on his trousers and holding it out.

Wirt hesitated for a moment and then shook his hand. "My friends and brother and I need a place to stay for the night"

"Well you came to the right spot! Settle in and make yourself at home!"

He showed them to a table in the corner of the room and they sat down, tired from walking.

"I'll fetch you something to eat" Tomas said, leaving towards the kitchen.

Dipper pulled his phone out of his backpack, the battery was getting low and it still read no bars. "Darn it"

"What's that?" Greg asked

"A cassette player?" Wirt guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a phone" Dipper said confused "you don't know what a phone is?"

"I've got one too!" Mabel added, pulling out her phone, which was wrapped in a bright pink case decorated with heart stickers.

"Of course I know what a phone is, but that doesn't look like any phone I've ever seen" Wirt said, leaning across the table to get a better look "where does it plug in?"

"It doesn't" Dipper replied "have you really never seen a cell phone before?"

"No, and I don't think we're likely to come across any phone lines around here"

"Wait a minute!" Dipper said with sudden realization "What year is it?"

"It's nineteen eighty, but I don't see..." Wirt paused for a second "what year do you think it is?"

"Twenty thirteen" Dipper replied

The two boys stared at each other dumbfounded.

"You're from the future!" Wirt exclaimed, a broad smile lighting up his face

"And we're in the past" Dipper said, "but how?"

"So that block thing is a phone." Wirt continued "What does the thing on your forehead do?"

"Oh, uh, nothing… that's just a birthmark" Dipper replied, brushing his hair down over his forehead self-consciously.

"Do you have a flying car!" Greg asked

"No, we don't have a flying car"

"What about a robot!" Greg jumped of his chair and started walking stiffly around the table "boop beep beep boop"

The other patrons began eyeing him curiously.

"No, I don't have a robot"

Greg climbed back up on his chair and looked Dipper straight in the eye. "Then you must be the robot" he pronounced solemnly.

"What? No! How does that even make sense?"

"I don't make sense" Greg said.

"Can see that"

"I don't think he's a robot Greg" Wirt assured his brother.

Tomas returned carrying a tray with plates of bread and cheese, four cups, and pitchers of water and ale.

"Here you go young'ns" he said putting it down on the table. He pulled a large old key out of his pocket and handed it to Wirt "Y'all's room is the first door on the left, we can settle up tomorrow morning"

He walked back to his stool by the door and plopped down, waiting for more guests

"He seems friendly" Mabel said "I'm so hungry from all that walking!"

Wirt handed out the plates and poured a glass of water for Greg and himself a mug of ale.

"Aren't you too young to drink?" Dipper asked

"I don't think anyone here will care" Wirt explained "otherwise why would they give it to us?"

"Well I've always wanted to try it" Dipper said, pouring himself a mug.

"I'll have some too!" Mabel chimed in.

"Uh, Mabel...I don't know if that's a good idea" Dipper replied

"What? So you guys can do it and I can't? We're the same age you know!"

"It's just"

"Just what? A 'guy thing'?"

"Well no, I guess not.." Dipper conceded

"Then give it here!" Mabel said snatching the pitcher and pouring the rest of it into her mug.

"You two... are twins?" Wirt asked between bites as they all began eating hungrily.

"Yes we are, but I'm taller" Mabel answered

Dipper looked annoyed and took a big gulp of ale. "It tastes like soda, but bitter"

Wirt and Mabel took a drink as well "Yah" Wirt added "It tastes weird but I kind of like it"

"Everything looks so dreamy" Mabel said

"It sure does" Dipper agreed as the room started to seem farther away. He had been anxious before but was relaxed now. "I wonder what percent alcohol is in this..."

"Quiet with that nerd stuff..." Mabel replied "lets just enjoy ourselves, at least we're not lost in the woods anymore"

"No we're just lost in time in a different world with no way to get back home, we could be stuck forever Mabel" He was surprised at how little the thought disturbed him right now.

"But if we weren't lost we wouldn't have found Wirt and Gregory"

"I'm not Gregory! I'm Greg!" Greg said adamantly

"You are Gregory, you just don't know it cause everyone calls you Greg"

"No! I'm Greg!"

"Yes but you're also Gregory"

"No!"

"Mabel you're arguing with a four year old" Dipper sighed "By the way what does Wirt stand for?"

"Wirt, lol, that's a funny name" Mabel said

"It's not funny" Wirt replied with an exaggerated melancholy "but that won't stop everyone from laughing at me anyway"

He took a long drink. "what's lol?"

"It's just a thing we future people say" Dipper said "it's like pretend amusement in a sarcastic sort of way"

Greg pulled his frog out from inside his overall pocket and set him on the table. "You're name is lol now" he stated. The amphibian stared back at him blankly.

The room was quieting down and Wirt was beginning to feel sleepy. He was glad they had met Dipper and Mabel. Of all the strange things he and Greg had seen in the Unknown he had never expected to come across a boy from the future who was lost here the same as him. "Why can you remember where you came from and we can't?"

"Huh?" Dipper was busy studying the carved woodwork depicting corn and jack o'lanterns in the beams on the ceiling.

"Why can you remember Gravity Falls?" Wirt repeated "I can't remember anything about how we got here, I just know we got here somehow. But you can remember exactly how you got here."

Dipper looked down from the ceiling. "You're right!"

"How did you get here, exactly?"

Dipper reached into his backpack and pulled out the journal. He showed Wirt the map.

"We went looking for this spot" he said pointing to the blank space.

"That's Gravity Falls?" Wirt said looking over the map. "It looks kind of like here"

"There's all sorts of awesome things there" Dipper said flipping through the journal, "Zombies, I accidentally summoned a bunch of those once, monsters, gnomes, and lots of other stuff."

"I can see why you thought I was a gnome" Wirt said as Dipper flipped to the page about gnomes.

"I'm going to sleep" Mable declared, pulling her sweater up over her head and leaning down on the table. "Don't talk about gnomes"

"We should go to the room" Wirt suggested, finishing the rest of the of his ale and standing up. "Whoa, I didn't know it would make things spin this much" He grabbed onto the table to steady himself and slowly walked towards the stairs after regaining his balance.

Wirt, Dipper, and Mabel walked upstairs towards their room, with Greg and his frog following close behind.

The hallway above featured many carved wooden doors decorated with engravings of jack o'lanterns and corn, same as the rafters on the first floor. The orange light of the single lantern in the middle of the hall shined eerily off the smooth wood, making the figures seem to dance.

Wirt pulled out the key and opened the first door on the left, inside was a small plain room with a carved wooden bed and straw mattress covered with blankets and several pillows, a basin and pitcher stood in the corner next to a worn chair. A round window above the bed let in the light from the full moon.

"Well sure beats a cave!" Mabel exclaimed running over to the bed and flopping down on it.

"You and Mabel can have the bed" Wirt told Dipper, "Greg and I can sleep on the floor. Is that ok with you Greg? "

"Yes" Greg yawned as Wirt took off his cape and cone and laid down under a blanket on the floor. Greg curled up next to him, cuddling his teapot like a stuffed animal. Dipper put he and Mabel's backpacks by the door along with his hat, shoes, and vest.

The four dozed off, tired from walking and ale.


	4. Episode 4: The Shadow Bandit

The next morning Dipper woke up from a strange dream where he was being chased by pumpkins through a cornfield. For a moment he had no idea where he was. Mabel was sleeping soundly next to him and the first light of the rising sun peaked through the round window into the room, leaving a beam in the dusty air. Dipper sat up, the events of the previous day coming back to him.

Wirt and Greg were still asleep on the floor. "I've got to start writing all this down" Dipper said to himself jumping out of bed, a portal to a new world, a strange old inn, kids from another time wearing cone hats, this all had to go in the journal. He walked quietly in his socks between Wirt and Greg over to his backpack and zipped it open.

The Journal Number Three was gone.

"Oh no, no no no!" he yelled pulling open every pocket in the backpack. He turned it upside down and shook it. Pens, notebooks, binoculars, rope, duct tape, flashlights, dirty clothes, disposable cameras, and the enlarging flashlight all fell to the floor in a heap, but no journal.

Wirt and Mable sat up, awakened by his yelling. "What is it!" Wirt said, putting on his cone and rushing to Dipper's side.

"The journal is missing!" Dipper cried "It's our only hope of getting back home!"

"Where did you see it last?" Wirt asked

"Last night when I showed it to you, before we came upstairs.. did you lock the door?"

Wirt looked uncomfortable "No.. I must have forgotten.. I was dizzy from the ale, I'm sorry!"

"Maybe there's a clue somewhere around here" Dipper said examining the area around the door "like a footprint or something"

Greg was awake now and going through Dipper's stuff. "People from the future sure have cool things, what does this do?" he asked holding up the flashlight with the enlarging crystal on it.

"Greg that's not yours put that down!" Wirt demanded.

Dipper snatched it from him "That's dangerous!"

Mabel was slowly getting out of bed, holding her head. "Oww" she groaned "What are you two nerds being so loud about?"

"Mabel someone took the journal!" Dipper said frantically

"Oh no! We have to find it Dipper! How are we going to get home?"

"Is this dangerous?" Greg chimed in, holding a pair of binoculars.

"No Greg, that's not dangerous, can you quiet down I'm trying to think!" Dipper snapped.

"What about this?" Greg asked handing Dipper an envelope made of heavy paper and sealed with black wax. This was definitely not his.

"Greg I think you found a clue!" Dipper said

"What does it say?" Wirt asked.

Dipper broke the seal and pulled out a small piece of paper. On it, written in large ornate letters, were three words.

The Shadow Bandit

"The Shadow Bandit" Dipper read, "that's who was in our room last night! He must have taken the journal"

"What's the shadow bandit?" Mabel asked

"I have no idea" Wirt said "But maybe the innkeeper will know"

Dipper re-packed his backpack and the four headed downstairs. Tomas the innkeeper was tending to the fireplace, scooping out the ashes from the night before. A pair of old women in fancy dresses were eating breakfast and comparing knitting.

"Excuse me!" Dipper asked the innkeeper.

He turned around "Well hello young'n, up already? What can I help you with?"

"What can you tell me about this?" he asked, handing him the letter "we found it in our room this morning, and he took my journal, it's made of leather and about so big..."

"The Shadow Bandit was here! Oh my! I've got 'o check the silver!" Tomas interrupted and rushed hastily into the kitchen to count spoons.

"He's a fool that one" Remarked one of the old women "Imagine the Shadow Bandit want'n silver!"

"You know about him?"

"I do indeed" she said "He comes not to steal silver, no, he's after something much more valuable, he's after what makes you remember"

"Remember what?" Mabel asked

"Why anything, but especially those things that matter most to you"

"He took my late husband's portrait" the second woman added "I can barely remember what he looked like now"

"But why?" Dipper asked

"Oh nobody knows darling, but it's said he lives off the memories of others. Whenever you forget something he gets stronger, and if you look into his eyes you might just lose your mind entirely"

"I don't like the Shadow Bandit" Greg said, looking scared and hugging his frog tightly.

"Sorry, but we have to get going" Wirt said and pushed Dipper and Mabel quickly towards the door of the inn.

"Thanks for your help!" Mabel called back to the ladies as Wirt ushered them out the door onto the small stone path leading to the main road.

The morning was clear and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was not too hot yet and it was the best time to get on their way.

"What's the big rush?" Dipper asked Wirt

"I don't have any money" Wirt said "and the innkeeper was going to be back any minute, we should get going"

"I've got some money" Dipper said pulling out his wallet, there was ten dollars in ones and fives inside and a trio of quarters. "Do you think he'll take this?"

"The only money I've ever seen here in the Unknown is coins" Wirt replied, "and I've only had a couple of those"

"But then I threw them in a well" Greg added, "But it was ok, cause we were going to steal more of them from a rich guy..."

"Greg!" Wirt interrupted him "Don't tell them that!"

"Well I'll go give him these at least" Dipper said pulling out the quarters "It doesn't feel right to dine and dash after he was so nice to us"

Dipper headed back inside with the change.

The innkeeper was still cleaning out the fireplace. "There you are young'n, I was beginning to think you had up'n left on me"

"This is all we have" Dipper said handing him the quarters, "I hope it's enough"

To Dipper's surprise Tomas's eyes bulged as he looked at the coins in the palm of his hand. "Enough! This is more than enough young'n, it's far too much! Three pieces of silver! My word! I can give you change for one of them."

He handed two of the quarters back to him and retrieved a small bag of coins from the kitchen. "Here you go, twenty pieces of copper"

"Thank you!" Dipper said rushing back outside. The other three were on the path waiting impatiently for him.

"Now can we go?" Wirt asked

"Check this out!" Dipper said handing him the bag of coins "It turns out quarters are really valuable here, he thought they were silver"

"We're rich!" Greg shouted, grabbing for the bag, Wirt kept it out of his reach. "Shhh, quiet Greg" he cautioned "someone might hear us, this isn't for throwing down wells"

Wirt hid the bag under his cape and the four kids went on their way, not knowing where they were going but heartened that their luck was beginning to turn.


	5. Episode 5: Comic Crowd

"So what was that flashlight in your backpack and why is it dangerous?" Wirt asked Dipper as they walked along.

Dipper pulled his backpack onto one shoulder and reached inside, retrieving the flashlight.

"See this?" he said pointing to the crystal "It's magic, this side makes things bigger" he flipped it over "And this side makes things smaller"

"Wow! Where did you get it? "

"I found the crystal in the woods in Gravity Falls"

The trees on either end of the path gave way slowly to small brush and grass as the edge of the forest receded out into the distance.

"Wirt" Dipper proposed, "what if the reason you can't remember where you came from is because the Shadow Bandit took your memories?"

"But then why don't I remember the Shadow Bandit?"

"Maybe he took those memories too" Mabel said "Maybe that's why no one has ever caught him, they can't remember what he looks like"

"You're right Mabel!" Wirt said, brightening up "Maybe all we need to do to find out where we came from is to find the Shadow Bandit and get our memories back"

"To catch the Shadow Bandit!" Wirt shouted, punching his fist in the air and picking up his pace almost to a run. "and get our memories back!"

"Yes! To the Shadow Bandit!" Greg chimed in, running up next to him, "Then we can go home!"

"Boom mystery twins!" Mabel exclaimed, giving Dipper a fist bump. "You're cute when you're excited" she said to Wirt.

Wirt blushed "I, I'm not.."

"Of course you are" Mabel chuckled "Even if you do dress like a gnome"

_This better not be the start of crush _Dipper thought to himself as he caught up, Mabel's crushes never ended well.

The road rose and fell over rolling hills and the morning was beginning to get uncomfortably hot.

"Where are we going" Dipper asked Wirt

"I don't know" the older boy admitted, "But something usually turns up if we keep an eye out"

"Wirt! Wirt!" Greg yelled tugging on his brother's cape

"Yes, what?"

"Can we go to the circus?"

"What circus?"

Greg pointed out towards the horizon "That one there"

Wirt squinted in the direction Greg was pointing, sure enough the peaks of tents brightly striped with red, orange, and blue poked up over the crest of a hill a far distance off the road, barely visible under the glare of the sun.

"Good eye Greg!" Wirt said, patting him on the back.

Dipper pulled out his binoculars and focused them on the distant tents. "You're right! That is a circus! Maybe we can find someone there who knows how to find the Shadow Bandit"

"Lets go!" Mabel said, heading off the road towards the tents. The rest of the group followed eagerly.

Over the hill was a number of the large striped tents they had seen from the road. Lively circus music played from unseen instruments and the smell of popcorn and hotdogs floated across the air, making them all hungry. Between the tents were small booths selling everything from cotton candy to unusual clothes, and attractions and games of various kinds were laid out in a haphazard manner. The air was filled with the shouts of the carnival barkers as they advertised their wares to the crowd.

A large number of people crowded around the area, moving in and out of the tents, buying things and playing the games. Balloons of all shapes and sizes decorated the booths.

"Wirt look clowns!" Greg exclaimed as they surveyed the scene.

"Yes Greg," his brother replied, "A lot of them! They're all clowns!"

In fact the entire crowd seemed to be wearing something clown like, face paint, over-sized shoes, colorful wigs and red noses.

"What?!" Dipper and Mabel said at the same time.

"But if they're all clowns, where are the guests?" Dipper wondered aloud

"Only one way to find out" Mable said "Go ask them Dipper"

"Mabel, don't you think this is a little creepy"

"Yah, that's why I want you to do it silly!"

"I'll go ask them!" Greg volunteered, abruptly running down the hill. He tripped and began rolling sideways down the grassy slope towards the crowd, is teapot bouncing along after him.

"Greg are you ok! Come back!" Wirt shouted running down the hill after him holding his cone.

"Well at least those two won't have any problem fitting in" Mabel remarked as she and Dipper watched the pair reach the bottom.

"Yah, they are pretty unusual aren't they, I wonder how long they've been lost here in the Unknown"

"Well either way Wirt's still cute"

"He's too old for you Mabel" Dipper sighed

"Oh, you mean like Wendy is to you?"

"That's different!"

"Really Dipper" Mabel said seriously "How is it different, I mean really?"

He could think of a comeback Mabel had already headed down the hill after Wirt. "Whatever" Dipper said going down after her.

When they reached the bottom Wirt and Greg were speaking with one of the clowns, a tall one dressed in a striped suit that made him look even taller and wearing white makeup.

"This is Dipper and Mabel" Wirt said as they walked up

"Nice to meet you!" the clown replied squeaking his nose. "You're just in time for the big show, it'll be starting in an hour inside the big top" He indicated the largest tent in the center of the circus. "We'd really like you all to attend!"

"That sounds amazingly fun!" Mabel said, "I'm there for sure!"

"But we were meaning to ask" Dipper interrupted "Everyone here is a clown, where is everyone else?"

"Well of course everyone here is a clown! Who do you think circuses are for!"

"It's just that, where we come from the clowns are part of the circus and everyone else goes to see them"

"It used to be that way here too" the clown said sadly, "But then fewer and fewer people showed up from the outside, now it's just us clowns."

"Aww that's too bad" Mabel sympathized

The clown pulled and exaggeratedly large handkerchief out of this sleeve and blew his nose. "Never mind me though, you go enjoy the circus"

"Will do Mr Clown!" Mabel walked off into the crowd "Come on guys! Don't make him sad"

The boys waved good bye to the clown and followed Mabel into the circus, delicious smells wafted through the air.

"Don't forget we're here to find out something about the Shadow Bandit" Dipper reminded everyone.

"I want cotton candy!" Greg whined, grabbing Wirt's cape and pulling him in the direction of a cotton candy booth.

Wirt pulled out the bag of copper coins and gave Mabel a couple "Can you keep an eye on Greg for a bit, Dipper and I are going to see if we can find someone who knows about the Shadow Bandit"

"Yes of course I can!" Mabel said cheerfully "I'll take great care of him, don't worry about a thing!"

"Thanks"

"Anything for you my handsome Wirty " Mabel responded

"Lets all meet at the big top in an hour" Dipper said "Be careful Mabel"

"I will!" she promised as she took Greg by the hand and headed towards the cotton candy.

"See you later handsome Wirty!" Greg called back.

"Great" Wirt said to Dipper under his breath "Now he's gonna call me that forever"

The two boys were soon deep in the crowd, looking for anything that might be a lead on the Shadow Bandit

"What are we looking for?" Dipper asked

"I don't know exactly, but I guess we'll know it when we see it, that's why we call it the Unknown"

They scanned the booths as they walked and the clowns stared at them as they passed. _Something still doesn't feel right here_, Dipper thought _I hope Mabel and Greg are ok_

"Maybe she can tell us about the Shadow Bandit" Wirt said tapping Dipper on the shoulder and pointing out a small dark tent adorned with colorful with beads. An old wooden sign outside read

The All Seeing Alli May

Come See Your Fortune


	6. Episode 6: The Big Top

The two boys stepped through the bead curtain into the dark foyer of the tent. The sound of the carnival outside seemed unnaturally faded by the thin barrier as it closed behind them.

Their eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing a curtain leading to the rest of the interior.

"Come in" A thin voice called from beyond.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea" Dipper whispered to Wirt, but Wirt ignored him, brushing aside the curtain. The fortune teller's room inside was lit by a number of small candles suspended from the ceiling of the tent, casting everything inside in a dim light.

A small round table covered in dark cloth stood in the center of the room, flanked by two wooden stools. A young woman was seated in a dark armchair, wearing a bead head dress and entirely too much jewelry, which jingled as she stood up to greet them.

"I am Alli May, the all seeing, the all knowing, I can tell you your destiny, your.." She paused mid-speech.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with a look between astonishment and relief "You're not clowns!"

"Hello Alli May" Wirt said "I'm Wirt, and this is Dipper"

"Hi" Dipper added, "I'm so glad you're not a clown either"

"Well outsiders, let us see what the future holds" She replied, gesturing for them to take a seat and resuming her place behind the table. As they sat down she pulled out a large stack of ornate tarot cards and laid three of them out face down.

"Actually, we were hoping you could tell us something about the Shadow Bandit" Wirt asked.

"Why do you wish to know of such things?" Alli May replied, her smile darkening into a frown "That is a dark path"

"I think he's the reason my brother and I can't remember where we come from"

"And he stole my journal!" Dipper interjected "Why has no one ever caught him? Where does he hide? What did he do to the journal?"

"One question at a time little Dipper, first Alli May must read your fortunes"

Dipper slouched in his stool with a scowl on his face, instinctively brushing his hair down over his forehead. He hated being called 'little dipper', _had she known?_

"Please pay very good attention" Alli May requested, turning over the first card. On it was a chess rook surrounded with fire.

"A burning rook" she explained, "It signifies that a place you rely on is in danger"

"The Mystery Shack?" Dipper asked worriedly. Instead of answering the fortune teller overturned the second card, on it was a unicorn standing beneath a tree.

"The unicorn, a very good sign. There is some magic, good magic, in your future." She said quickly and reached for the third card.

As she picked it up it up there was another underneath. Alli May looked confused for an instant, the card was blank except for a single eye, staring out from the paper with an odd intensity.

"There are usually three" she said apologetically "let us place this one aside for now"

She placed the extra card on the edge of the table quickly, as if it were hot, before reaching for the final card. On it was a picture of the moon, surrounded by stars.

"The night. It signifies patience" Her voice was growing inexplicably tense

"Please tell me, what message do you see in this? Quickly please, heed the message" She continued, almost begging.

Dipper studied the cards intently, a burning rook, was the Mystery Shack in danger? A unicorn, good magic, and the night, patience. Rook, Unicorn, Night. Rook, Unicorn, Night.

"Wirt!" Dipper said glancing over at him, one look told him he had seen it too.

"Go now!" Alli May burst out "Before it's too late!"

Wirt sprang up, taking off his cone and knocking over the stool as he scrambled for the curtain "Greg! I should never have left him!"

Dipper ran out after him, his heart pounding, _Mabel was in danger_. He passed the curtain and hands grabbed him from behind, before he could turn around a hood flew over his head, there was a sharp blow, and then black.

* * *

A stream of cold water splashed over Dipper's face and he opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids felt like they were made of lead and bright lights shined at him from every direction, standing over him was a hideous clown, his white face covered in jagged red lines.

"Ahh! What the!" Dipper started backwards, banging into the back of the small cage he was in. The clown was on the outside, an empty bucket in his hand.

"Good, you're awake" the hideous clown squeaked "It's almost time for the big show"

Laughing the clown dropped abruptly out of sight to the sound of applause and carnival organ music.

Dipper crawled over to the front of the cage, his head felt like it had been split in two and he was dizzy. The floor of the cage rocked precariously as he moved over to see the clown descending on a flying trapeze.

Dozens of feet below him was the big top, tight ropes, trapezes, swings spanned across the open air above the main ring. The main ring was empty, but the stands were full of clowns, applauding and cheering with a din of squeaks, beeps, and whistles, eagerly waiting for the show to begin.

"Dipper! Are you ok!"

Mabel was suspended in a giant bird cage next to his, behind her were Wirt and Greg, each in cages of their own.

"Mabel!" Dipper cried "Are you hurt!"

"No, but I don't feel so good"

"The cotton candy made us sick!" Greg whined from his cage, grabbing his stomach.

"This must be the big show" Mabel said uneasily

"Mabel… I think we are the show" Wirt replied

"Ladies and gentleclowns!" A gravely voice boomed out from below "We have for you tonight the most spectacular show in the world!"

Dipper looked back over the edge. Down in the ring a large clown in a ringmaster suit holding a whip and wearing a top hat was addressing the stands. A large trampoline with a tiny ring above it was being wheeled into the middle of the tent.

"We have the high wire act, the trapeze, and all the regular marvels. But first! Who wants to see one of these lucky freaks jump onto a trampoline. Through a ring of fire!"

Right on que the ring above the trampoline burst into flame, multiple clowns flipped from trapeze to trapeze above it as the crowd grew louder.

"He called us freaks!" Mabel was outraged.

"We have to jump through that!" Dipper said frightened, just looking at it was giving him vertigo "No way! Not happening!"

The music picked up and the jagged faced clown swung back up, landing deftly on the outside of Greg's cage. "This one should fit!" he squealed, unlocking the cage and pulling Greg out.

"Leave him alone! Don't touch him!" Wirt yelled furiously. The clown chuckled and dived across the air for the trapeze with Greg tucked under his arm. The teapot fell off his head and hit the ring far below with a loud clang.

"Help! Wirt Help!" Greg sobbed as the clowns tossed him between one another while they swung.

"Look at that folks!" The ringmaster announced "Such agility! Such speed! I only hope they don't drop him, except into the ring of fire that is!"

Wirt stopped yelling and sat down in resignation looking stunned, his eyes full of tears. Dipper's mind was racing, he reached for his backpack. It was missing.

"We have to save him Dipper!" Mabel cried

"I know! I'm trying!"

The clown carrying Greg alighted on the high wire above the trampoline.

"Let me go!" Greg wailed, kicking futilely at the clown "Help!"

"You hear that folks!" the ringmaster laughed "He wants to be let go! Drum roll please!"

The music reached a crescendo as the clown held Greg out over the burning ring below.

"At the count of three..." the ringmaster began

Dipper was searching the pockets of his vest and shorts frantically, phone, wallet, bubblegum wrappers...

"Two!"

...laser tag tokens, compass...

"One!"

"Yes!" Dipper exclaimed, pulling out the enlarging flashlight and scrambling to the edge of the cage just as the clown dropped Greg towards the fiery ring.

He flipped the switch and a bright beam of purple light shot out across the tent towards the ring and trampoline which began growing rapidly, knocking over the ringmaster and banging against the stands and the center pole of the circus tent.

Dipper shut off the flashlight just as Greg tumbled safely through the now massive ring onto the trampoline. The cages rocked back and forth as the center pole began to sway. The heat from the massive flames was suffocating.

"Way to go Dipper!" Mabel shouted

"Don't worry Greg!" Wirt called down "I'm coming! Don't be scared!"

The pole leaned abruptly with a loud crackling sound and the clowns streamed out of every exit in a panic of pogo sticks, floppy shoes, and squeaking balloons.

"Stick these in the lock!" Wirt called to Dipper, throwing him a couple of small copper coins.

"Great idea Wirt!" he said sticking one in the lock of the cage and training the enlarging beam on it, the coin grew, snapping the lock in half with a loud crack. Dipper leaned out of the door of the cage and handed the flashlight and coins to Mabel.

The pole snapped and fell sideways, nearly jolting the cage out of his grip as it hit and braced on the flaming ring.

"Hurry!" he shouted to Mabel. She broke the lock the same way and handed the flashlight through the bars to Wirt.

Bright yellow flame began creeping up the pole, filling the tent with thick stinging smoke.

"We have to jump!" Wirt coughed as he broke the lock on his cage and opened the door.

Dipper took one look down to make sure the way was clear, then closed his eyes and jumped.

The next few seconds seemed like an eternity as he plunged through the open air past the searing heat of the fire and slammed surprisingly hard into the trampoline. Wirt and Mabel fell down next to him.

Greg was at the far end of the trampoline, holding his teapot and bouncing up and down shouting "Hurray! Hurray!"

Wirt scrambled to his feet and put Greg on his back, "Hold on tight" he told him. "Lets go!"

The four kids jumped to the hard floor beneath the trampoline and sprinted as fast as they could for the entrance just as the pole gave way, bringing the roof of the big top down like a huge blanket.


	7. Episode 7: Unknown Map

The night outside the tent was lit by carnival lights, now appearing creepy and unwholesome instead of inviting. The burning mountain of wood and fabric which had once been the big top cast a harsh glare over the clowns as they hopped, squeaked, and whistled around in a panic, trying to dowse the flames with everything from trick flowers to buckets of water.

Wirt, Greg, Dipper and Mabel mingled with the confusion, bumping into clowns as they snuck back in the direction of the road.

The ringmaster clown crawled out from under the remains of the big top, his top hat missing and his ring master suit singed and charred, he still held the whip. "What are you doing!" he shouted at the other clowns, cracking his whip loudly in the air and pointing at the kids "They're getting away! After them!"

The clowns began converging on them from all sides.

"Stay back!" Wirt threatened, pulling out the flashlight and flipping the crystal to the shrinking side. The clowns hesitated."Mabel, Dipper run!" he shouted.

Dipper and Mabel took off running through the now abandoned games and booths, Wirt with Greg close behind. The blinking circus lights shined through the thickening smoke in every direction, making it impossible to see more than a short distance ahead.

The clowns were slower in their oversized shoes and stilts, but there were a lot of them and they were coming from every direction.

Through the smoke Dipper saw the fortune teller's tent, Alli May was standing outside. "Hurry children! In here!" She called gesturing frantically.

They ran through the bead curtain and into the interior of the tent just as the clowns caught up, running this way and that, searching for them.

"Quiet" Alli May urged, herding them in behind the table. She peeked outside the tent. "You're safe for now"

"Who is she Dipper?" Mabel whispered

"Her name is Alli May, she tried to warn us before"

Alli May walked over to a large chest in the corner of the room and shuffled through the contents, emerging with a rolled up piece of paper tied with red string.

She handed it to Wirt "On here are the answers you came seeking, but beware, no one has ever opened the way to the Bandit's lair, not in a very long time. It is a secret hidden for a reason, the Bandit is not to be trifled with"

"Thank you" Wirt said, tucking the scroll into his belt.

She reached back into the chest and pulled out Mabel and Dipper's backpacks, along with Wirt's cone. "I managed to grab these after they took you, I foresaw you might be needing them"

"Awesome!" Mabel exclaimed as the twins put their backpacks back on "You're the best Alli May"

"Why are you here?" Dipper asked, "And why are you helping us? Aren't you part of the circus too?"

"I would like to explain" Ally May replied "But we don't have much time, they will come in here eventually"

"Come with us" Mabel pleaded

"I'm afraid I can't" Alli May said sadly, "A curse binds me to this circus, and it will bind you too if you don't get a move on. I'll lead them in the other direction."

Without another word she stepped out of the tent. "Over here!" they heard her shout to the clowns "They went that way!"

"Come on!" Dipper said, lifting up the back of the tent.

The kids slipped out in to the night and headed quietly into the smoke towards the direction of the road, their hearts pounding as they listened for any sound of pursuit.

Once they got up the hill and smoke thinned out they began to breath easier, walking in silence back towards the road. The smoke from the big top reached into the sky above like a black pillar. Unfamiliar stars shined down as they pushed through the tall grass, the only sound was the rustling of the grass and crickets chirping forlornly into the night.

When they reached the road they collapsed, exhausted.

"I'm never going to the circus again" Greg finally said, breaking the silence.

"Me neither Greg" Wirt agreed, taking off his cone and wincing as he rubbed the back of his head.

"We were almost clown toys!" Mabel added "so not cool"

"Owww" Dipper groaned, laying down on the dirt path, his head was still throbbing.

"We shouldn't sleep here, in case they come looking. Lets keep going and find somewhere to rest" Wirt suggested

They got up and trudged down the path away from the circus. The smoke soon passed out of sight behind them and all they could see for miles in each direction was the moonlit plains.

"Thanks for saving us Dipper" Wirt said

"Thank you! Thank you! We were almost goners!" Greg proclaimed, giving him a hug.

"You're welcome buddy" Dipper replied, hugging him back. "But it was just luck, I must have had the flashlight in my pocket from when I was showing it to Wirt earlier"

Greg reached inside his overalls and pulled out his frog "I have lol in my pocket!" he said "I thought I squished him when I fell on the trampoline, but it turns out it was just candy"

He reached into his pants pocket and produced a large flattened wad of melted candy.

"For you" he said giving it to Dipper.

"Uh...yah, that's great, thanks..." Dipper replied, putting the sticky mass back in Greg's hand "But I think you'd better keep that"

Up ahead was a small grove of trees "This looks like a good place to camp" Wirt ducked underneath the branches and sat down. Dipper, Greg, and Mabel sat down next to him.

"We don't have any blankets" Dipper said, the night was starting to get too chilly for shorts.

"We can use this" Wirt replied taking off his cape and spreading it out over the leafy ground.

"And I've got sweaters!" Mabel said. She reached inside her backpack and produced a bundle of colorful sweaters covered with various designs. Dipper picked the least girly one he could find, Wirt and Greg each put one on as well.

They all huddled together under the cape, staring up at the stars through the tree branches.

"What's on the paper Alli May gave you?" Dipper asked.

Wirt pulled out the scroll and untied the string. In the moonlight they could make out a detailed map, showing a shoreline and an expanse of open sea, dotted with islands of various shapes and sizes. On the land were marked roads and towns with names like 'The Pumpkin Vale' and 'Grasshopper Garden'.

In the middle of the sea was a red X, and underneath it was a jumble of handwritten letters, obviously some kind of code.

"Whoa!" Wirt and Dipper said at the same time.

"It's a treasure map!" Wirt said, his face lighting up with excitement.

"To the bandit's lair?"

"We won't know till we get there" Wirt said, carefully re-rolling the scroll and tucking it back into his belt.

The four kids drifted off to sleep, completely exhausted, and the Unknown now a little bit less unknown.


	8. Episode 8: Kin's Ferry

Dipper opened his eyes up to the sun shining through the translucent leaves of the tree above him, the morning air was cool and the ground under his back was wet with dew.

Mabel was sitting with Greg against a tree at the other end of the grove, Greg was playing with her phone, turning it around and squiggling randomly on the touch screen. Wirt was sitting across from them, studying the map intently and looking the happiest he had ever seen him.

Dipper sat up slowly, his entire body was stiff and sore, but thankfully the throbbing in his head had diminished to a dull ache.

"Good morning sleepy head" Mabel said "Boy you were really out of it, you snored the whole night"

"Hello to you too Mabel" he said standing up and putting on his hat. He shook the dew off of Wirt's cape and handed it back to him "Here you go, thanks for letting me sleep in"

"No problem" Wirt said, putting the cape back on, "take a look at this!"

He pointed to a road on the map "This is the road we've been following, see there's the inn we were at, and if you go further back there's the Edlewood Greg and I have been exploring"

A large forest covered part of the map, interspersed with inns and small villages marked out by intricately detailed drawings of houses, fences and individual buildings.

"There's Potsfield" Wirt said, indicating one of the villages "that means we've been going north-west as we've been following this road"

Dipper pulled the compass out of his shorts pocket and laid it on the map "When Mabel and I got lost in the woods outside Gravity Falls the magnetic points seemed to flip. That means south on this compass should be actually be north here"

He oriented the map under the compass so that the top was pointing towards the south.

"The sea should be over that direction" Dipper said pointing east across the road. "That's one long walk" he sighed "and how could we get out on the water anyway?"

"Maybe we could ride a whale" Greg suggested.

"I don't think we can catch a whale Greg" Wirt replied "And anyway whales swim underwater"

"This road ends at a town by the sea" Wirt pointed out to Dipper "Maybe they have boats"

"Hey hey! Wirt!" Greg interrupted again "Someone's coming!"

A ramshackle wooden cart was creaking up the road, pulled by a mule, and sitting on it was a lumberjack with a black beard, wearing a wide brimmed hat and dressed in a flannel shirt and overalls. The bed was full of planks.

Dipper and Mabel hastily grabbed their backpacks and the four kids ran to the edge of the road as the cart drew near.

"Hello there!" Mabel called out, waving at him.

The man tugged the mule to a halt and stared back without saying a word.

"I'm Mabel" she continued undeterred "This is Wirt and Greg. And my twin nerd brother Dipper"

"We're trying to get to the end of the road" Wirt said "We'd be really grateful if you could give us a ride"

"Well...I guess so" the lumberjack replied "I am going that way myself, hop in the back, but no funny business"

"Thanks!" Wirt exclaimed, sitting on the back of the cart with his legs dangling over the edge. He reached down and helped Greg up next to him.

"Yes thank you so much! I'm so tired of walking!" Mabel added as she and Dipper climbed in as well. The man shook the reins and the cart resumed it's steady pace.

"Nerd brother? Really?" Dipper grumbled

"Well how else should I introduce you?"

"I don't know, how about smart, adventurous, awesome, that sort of thing?"

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again" Mabel apologized "You know I like you right! Even if you are a nerd" She reached over and touched him on the nose "Boop! Brother!"

"Mabel.." Dipper said, embarrassed "Don't do that..."

Mabel kept poking him on the nose."Boop! Beep! Boop!"

"Quit it already!" Dipper exclaimed, moving to the other side of the cart. Mabel slid over closer to Wirt, leaning in very close. He didn't seem to mind.

The day grew hotter as the cart moved slowly up the road and Dipper, Wirt, and Greg took off their sweaters. Wirt pulled out the map, examining it again before climbing carefully over the planks across the cart and showing it to the man.

"Excuse me" he asked "Do you know if the town at the end of the road has boats?"

"Of course it does son" the man replied, "I reckon it's the biggest port in these here parts, that's why I'm on my way there to sell my wares"

"Did you hear that Dipper!" Wirt said, climbing back to the back of the cart "Sounds like we're going to sea!"

"To sea!" Greg cheered "To sea! To sea!"

The cart rolled along as Greg chatted excitedly about all the different sizes of fish he was going to catch.

It was evening when they came across a sign saying Kin's Ferry. Around a bend in the road was a large collection of colorfully painted but run down wooden houses, the streets were lit by lanterns and a large number of people milled around the rough timber sidewalks between the buildings.

Beyond the peaks of the houses the sea stretched out to the horizon, whitecaps breaking rhythmically on the crags that provided a natural harbor at the rear of the town. On the tallest cliff stood a strange crooked lighthouse, very old and covered in ivy. Its light shined out over the darkening waters as the setting sun painted the horizon in streams of bright orange and deep purple, reflecting off the shimmering water.

The masts of sailing ships were silhouetted against the sunset like a forest of sail and rope. A cool salty wind, smelling distinctly of fish, blew in from across the water and seagulls circled high in the air.

They all took in a deep breath of the sea air, the breeze felt good on Dipper's skin after the heat of the day.

The lumberjack stopped the cart in front of the general store and the kids jumped down off the back.

"Thanks for the ride!" Wirt called as they headed off down the timber walkway towards the wharf.

"Any time son!" the man replied, tipping his hat.

The town was larger than it appeared at first glance, rough looking sailors and fishermen shuffled in and out of taverns and inns as rowdy shouts and fiddle music echoed through the lamp lit streets.

"The first thing we should do is find some food" Dipper said, his stomach was growling.

"I'm hungry too" Greg complained. They were all hungry, none of them had eaten in over a day.

"How about this place?" Wirt suggested "The Ancient Pearl Inn"

Outside the single story building, which had once been green but was now peeling from the salt air, was a sign depicting a large pearl inside a clam, emblazoned in bright gold with the inn's name.

"At least there's no fights going on" Mabel agreed "Lets go"

The inside was brightly lit by oil lanterns hanging from the low rafters, wooden tables with long benches ran across the room. The inn was largely empty except for a few sailors in white uniforms, who laughed and cheered loudly as they played dice while drinking from large mugs of ale.

At the bar sat a number of older men of the sea, with wrinkled suntanned faces and long beards, one of them was missing a leg. Oars, fishing tackle, and nets decorated the walls. Over the bar a massive oyster shell hung from the ceiling.

The bartender was a tough looking man with a scruffy beard, short braided hair, and bulging muscles. He was wearing an apron and number of belts over it, covered in metal trinkets.

_I wonder if he was a pirate once?_ Dipper thought as they took a seat at the bar. Wirt had to help Greg up onto the tall stools.

"We don't normally serve land lubbers in here" the bartender growled moving over to them "Wadda you kids want? "

"Lots of food!" Mabel said, placing a couple coins on the counter.

"Well I've got just the thing for that little missy" The bartender replied, he took the coins and returned with a large plate of delicious smelling fried fish. The kids dug in hungrily.

"We're looking for a ship" Wirt said between bites

"Where to?"

He pulled out the map and laid it out on the bar. "To here" he said, indicating the red X.

"Well that's a treasure map if I ever saw one" the bartender replied, "I'd be careful who I show that to around here"

The old sea captain with the missing leg leaned over, glancing at the map. "Those are dangerous waters" he said "no one ever sails south of the Bay of Crocodiles, they say there's all sorts of weirdness down there. Whatever's sunken under that there spot is probably weird or dangerous or cursed, probably all three"

"If I were you I'd forget all about it" he finished, returning to his ale. Wirt rolled the map up and tucked it back into his belt.

"Well I've sailed south of the Bay of Crocodiles..." stated old sailor next to him after a short pause, sipping his ale with obvious self-importance.

"No yah didn't" the third old sailor remarked from a few stools down.

"I've had just about enough of yar tall tales" the old captain added.

"It's true" the sailor insisted "I sailed under Captain Ransom the Honest I did, it was a long time ago, and let me tell yah, we saw things down there that you wouldn't believe if I told you"

"Ransom the lighthouse keeper?" the old captain laughed "Well that is a good yarn"

"It ain't a yarn!" the sailor barked

"Sure, just like that sea snake you told us about yesterday, what was it? Ten fathoms long, sticking straight out of the water?"

"Well maybe it weren't quite that long" the sailor admitted "but that didn't do no good to the poor souls it devoured"

"Well I believe you" Dipper said "I'd like to hear all about Captain Ransom and the sea snake!"

For the hundredth time since the Shadow Bandit he wished he had the journal, there was so much he wanted to write down.

"Me too" Wirt added

"I'll do you one better" the sailor said, "lets go see Ransom himself, he'll tell you I'm speaking the truth" He heaved himself off the stool and shuffled to the door of the inn.

"Come on guys!" Dipper said starting after him. Wirt, Mabel, and Greg came along, eager to hear the story.

"He's pull'n your leg kid!" the old captain called after them as they followed the sailor out into the crispy salt air, headed towards the lighthouse


	9. Episode 9: Captain Ransom

They followed the old sailor up the narrow stone path to the lighthouse, it was even more strange up close, the ivy grew so thickly on the crooked walls of rough stone that it was almost impossible to find the door. The sailor brushed the ivy this way and that until he found the entrance and took hold of the large brass knocker, giving it several sharp raps.

A moment passed before the door opened with a creak, revealing a tall man of about the same age as the sailor, but of much stronger build. He had a strong jaw and eyes that glistened with a fierce but yet measured intensity. His graying hair was still streaked with dark lines of black and he had a short neatly trimmed beard. He reminded Dipper of Grunkle Stan.

"Seabert! Good to see you old chap!" he said to the sailor "What brings you calling?"

"I just came to introduce these here young ones to the greatest captain who ever lived" Seabert stated "Hope we're not disturbing you?"

"Not at all!" he said, looking down at the kids and cracking a smile.

"You're Captain Ransom?" Dipper asked

"That's me." Ransom replied "Who be you?"

"I'm Dipper Pines, this is my sister Mabel, and these are our friends Wirt and Greg"

"Nice to meet you sir" Wirt said respectfully, tipping his cone.

"Come on in" Ransom offered, holding the door open and ushering them inside.

Any lingering suspicion that Seabert had been exaggerating fell away as they entered the lighthouse. The interior was surprisingly spacious, a winding staircase curled up towards the light at the top and a pair of chairs were in the main room around the lit fireplace. Above the fireplace hung a cutlass and on the mantle was a large model of a ship, intricately assembled and bearing the name Goldfinch.

"Make yourselves at home" Ransom said as Seabert sat down heavily on one of the chairs while Ransom took the other. The kids gathered together on the rug in front of the hearth.

"I was just telling them about the time we sailed down beyond the Bay of Crocodiles, what a time that was"

"Ah yes..." Ransom said, taking a long stare at the ship on the mantle "a fine vessel and a fine crew, you especially Seabert. Its a pity how things turned out."

"What happened?" Dipper asked.

"Well we originally set sail for the Bay itself, the crocodiles guard a sacred spice mine, very rare stuff, even the smallest bit will cure any illness. They're fierce ones those crocodiles, and they don't like people poking around the mine. We did what we came to do and made our escape, but just as we set out there blew up a storm the likes of which I have never seen in my life, not before or since.

We couldn't very well sail into it, so we had no choice but to sail south. We were hit by doldrums just beyond the island, then things began to become strange. Our water casks walked overboard."

"Walked overboard?" Mabel said, confused "Like with legs?"

"Just like that missy" Seabert said "The darn things grew legs and jumped over starboard, laughing, and with all our water in them"

"Then the crew began acting strange" Ransom continued "The first mate became delirious and began sabotaging the ship, he wrecked our main sail and threw our instruments overboard. He was not human anymore, his eyes were like a cats, bright yellow. He kept raving about how no one must reach the Shadow Bandit or it will be the end of the world. Then came the sea serpent. It attacked our ship and devoured the crew. We fought as best we could, but it got the better of us."

The Pines twins exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

"The captain and I were the only survivors" Seabert added "We managed to get aboard a lifeboat just before the Goldfinch went down with all aboard, under the serpents coils."

"I never sailed again since that day" Ransom stated "Now I tend the family lighthouse, hoping to keep other ships from meeting a similar fate on the rocks outside the harbor."

"Aye" Seabert sighed "As you saw for yourselves nar a soul believes our story"

For a moment there was no sound but the pop and crackle of the fire as the two men sat lost in thought, remembering a voyage long ago.

"Except for us" Dipper said finally, breaking the silence "Show him the map Wirt"

Wirt pulled out the map and rolled it open in the flickering light of the fire.

"My word!" Ransom said, picking it up and studying it intently.

"We haven't deciphered the code yet" Dipper explained "it was given to us by a fortune teller, she said it leads to the Shadow Bandit"

"Dipper'll handle the code" Mabel said, making circles around her eyes like glasses "He's really smart and nerdy with those sorts of things"

"Mabel, this is serious" Dipper whispered, annoyed.

"Well the fortune teller might be right about that" Ransom said solemnly, pointing to the X "I reckon this is just were the Goldfinch lies on the bottom, there was something there that fate did not want us to find."

"Whoa!" Wirt nearly jumped out of his skin as a loud clang echoed suddenly through the lighthouse. They all looked around for the source of the noise.

"Sorry" Greg called from halfway up the staircase "I dropped my hat"

"Greg! Get down here!" Wirt ordered" It's not polite to snoop!"

"But I want to see the light!" Greg whined.

"Maybe some other time Greg" Wirt said, getting up and leading him down the stairs by the hand and sitting him in front of the fire.

"We need to get to the X" Dipper told Ransom "The Shadow Bandit stole my journal and we think Wirt and Greg's memories as well"

"Well, stealin memories is what he does" he agreed "But what would he want with a journal?"

"It's no ordinary journal" Dipper said. He proceeded to explain about how he and Mabel had become lost in the woods, and the nature of the journal and its secrets about the legends of Gravity Falls.

"Well well" Ransom said "Now there's a fascinating volume, I'd love to read it one day"

He became serious "If you wish to get to the location on the map you'll need a ship, and a hearty crew willing to risk the dangers of those weird waters. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time finding that here, or anywhere for that matter."

"We're willing to go" Wirt replied "I can't let Greg grow up here in the Unknown..."

"Us too!" Mabel and Dipper said together.

Ransom stood up and walked to the small window on the other side of the lighthouse. He stood for a while staring out at the sea, the whitecaps were barely visible in the beam of the lighthouse, crashing silently on invisible rocks in the dark. A frown clouded his face.

"We have some money" Wirt said "We can get a boat at least"

"I can't stop you " Ransom said, letting out a deep sigh "I know I'd do the same in your position, if I had my youth and vigor still about me. But I don't wish to be responsible for the tragedy that may befall should you chart such a dangerous course"

He turned away from the window and sat back down in the chair "You can stay the night here, in the morning may you journey safely"


	10. Episode 10: The Jackdaw

Wirt, Dipper, Mabel, and Greg woke up early the next morning under a pile of old blankets in front of the fireplace. The fire had gone out and Seabert had left sometime during the night.

Captain Ransom was busy frying bacon on the old wooden in the kitchen at the opposite end of the lighthouse. A heavy cellar door next to the kitchen led to a large larder underground and salty air mingled with the scent of the bacon through the open window above the stove.

"Good morning" Ransom said as the kids emerged one by one from under the blankets, gathering their stuff and getting ready to go. He handed them each some bacon.

"I hope you took my tale last night to heart" he told Wirt

"I did sir" Wirt replied "but if finding the Shadow Bandit is still the only way to get me and Greg's memories back, then we'll have to risk it"

"Very well then" Ransom said " Exactly how much money you got boy? Boats aren't cheap you know"

Dipper reach into his wallet and pulled out the two quarters. "I've got these"

"Well, I figure that should be enough for a skiff" Ransom admitted, "If you get it cheap. Ask for Charlie the Boatswain, he'll be able to sell you a good boat"

"You'll be wanting provisions too" he said, pulling up the cellar door and descending down the stairs. He returned with his arms full of a large keg of rum, four loves of bread, a salted ham, and a large block of sharp smelling cheese. He took one of the blankets from in front of the hearth and wrapped it all into a large bundle.

"Here you go missy" He said to Mabel, handing her the food.

"Thanks!" Mabel replied, throwing it over her shoulder.

They finished the bacon and headed out the door down the path towards the town, waving goodbye to Captain Ransom

The morning was overcast and cool, a thin white mist had blown in from the sea overnight, casting a sense of eerie stillness over the town. The masts of ships stuck out above the mist, moving out to sea from the port.

The four kids hurried down the rough wooden sidewalks as throngs of sailors and fishermen mingled about carrying cargo to and fro, bidding farewell to their equally hardy families as they prepared to depart on the day's voyages.

Anchored in the harbor were dozens of wooden sailing ships of all sizes, the wet wood of their hulls shimmered with the damp of the mist as sailors loaded provisions off and on up sturdy rope ladders handing down from the sides.

"Whooaa!" Greg gasped, looking up at the largest one in the center of the dock "Can we get that one Wirt!"

"I don't think so Greg" Wirt said "It's probably too expensive"

"Excuse me!" Dipper asked one of the sailors, a large man in a black and white striped shirt "Do you know where we can find Charlie the Boatswain?"

The sailor pointed across the pier towards a small shop propped up against the side of the cliff.

"Thanks" Dipper said heading towards the structure. As they got closer the sound of unintelligible arguing filtered out over the bustle of the pier.

".. and don't ever come back!" a voice shouted from inside as a pair of sailors burst out of the door, nearly bumping into Wirt "Oh yah! Well...uh..same to you you! "one of them stammered back as they hurried out onto the dock, slamming the door behind them.

"What was that all about?" Dipper wondered out loud as he cautiously opened the door.

Inside was a table and a board propped up like a counter on a number of barrels, a hammock hung in the corner and a single small lantern lit the room. Every wall, as well as the table, was covered in drawings and plans of ships of all kinds rendered meticulously on parchment, each nail and joint carefully labeled.

"Wow!" Dipper exclaimed looking around at the drawings.

A youth with short blond hair and blue eyes, about the same age and height as Wirt, popped up from behind the counter. They were barefoot and dressed in a brown leather vest, a baggy white shirt, and dark beeches held up by a wide belt. On the belt was a large knife.

"Sorry about that, just a couple of no good swindlers. What do you guys what?"

"We're looking for Charlie" Wirt answered.

"That's me"

Dipper and Wirt exchanged looks as the youth walked closer "You're a.." Dipper started

"A girl?!" Charlie said, "so?"

"...it's just, we were expecting"

"What? Some old hairy carpenter dude?"

"I guess..I assumed ...I"

"Nice to meet you!" Mabel interrupted, pushing past the boys and extending her hand, "I'm Mabel"

"Nice to meet you too!" Charlie said, shaking her hand and looking less defensive.

"Never mind my brother, he just puts his foot in his mouth a lot, it's like it never leaves"

"Boys huh" Charlie remarked and both girls began laughing. Wirt and Dipper shuffled around uncomfortably with embarrassment.

"Do you make all these!" Mabel asked, indicating the drawings on the walls of the shop.

"Sure do" Charlie replied "I build 'em for real too"

"That's so cool!" Mabel said

"We came to get a boat" Wirt explained "Captain Ransom sent us"

"Captain Ransom huh!" Charlie said "Why didn't you say so!"

"I did say so.."

"What kind of ship are you looking for?" she continued

"Whatever we can get with this" Dipper said, handing her the quarters.

"I've got just the thing" Charlie said excitedly, walking out the door "follow me"

She led them back along the busy harbor towards in the opposite direction from which they had come. At the other end of the harbor was a dry dock, inside of which a ship was being constructed. The large curved beams that made up the ribs of the hull stuck up into the air, and a number of carpenters were busy around it, sawing planks of wood, taking measurements, and fitting the crossbeams which would hold the lower decks.

"Hello Charlie" The carpenters greeted, tipping their hats as she walked past "Good morning Charlie!"

"Good morning guys" she replied "Nice work today!"

"Special customers?" One of them asked

"You betcha!" Charlie said as she led the four kids to a line of boats moored to the dock.

"This is the one" she said stopping in front of boat made of black painted oak. It had a single mast outfitted with a large white sail and the prow was carved in the shape of a flying crow. 'The Jackdaw' was emblazoned on the back in shiny metal letters.

She grabbed hold of the rope ladder on the side and climbed up onto the deck "don't be shy!" she call down to them "come aboard!"

Mabel and Dipper climbed up after her and Wirt followed, carrying Greg on his back.

The boat rocked gently in the water as Charlie showed them around. Above decks the wheel for the rudder was mounted at the back of the ship under a cloth canopy, a long rope ladder led up to a precarious looking crows nest at the top of the mast. Below deck a number of hammocks hung from the ceiling and at the stern was a storage area. Towards the bow was a cabin with its own door and a couple small portholes.

"This is great Charlie!" Mabel said.

"Yah" Dipper agreed absent mindedly , still admiring the mechanical functions and layout of the vessel.

Charlie climbed back down the ladder and untied the mooring line from the pier before tossing it back up onto the ship.

"See you later! Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" Greg and Mabel called back as Wirt and Dipper unfurled the sail.

The wind caught hold of the cloth and began pulling the boat away from the dock into the mist.

"I like Charlie" Greg said as the dock faded back into the white "She's nice and she dresses like a boy and she makes cool ships. She's a tom boy?"

"Yes, she's a tom boy Greg" Wirt confirmed, smiling.

The mist cleared as they got further out to sea, riding up and down on the waves. The shoreline receded gradually out of sight, until all they could see in any direction was the shining blue of the water.


	11. Episode 11: Storm

The early morning clouds retreated, replaced by a cloudless sky and hot sun, as The Jackdaw sailed on across the endless blue of the open sea.

"I call dibs on the cabin!" Mabel declared as soon as they were out of sight of land, hurrying below deck. "You guys can have the hammocks"

"Wait! Not fair!" Dipper asserted, running down after her "I need it for my research"

"Research?"

"Yah, I have to chart the course, keep a captains log, that sort of thing"

"That's not research, and who made you captain anyway?" Mabel countered

"Well, I just sort of figured"

"What about Wirt?" Mabel suggested "He's a teenager, he should be captain! He even has the cape and everything. "

"I think Dipper should be captain" Wirt said "He knows more than I do about maps and stuff, but I get to steer the wheel and be first mate"

"See" Dipper said smugly

"Well if Dipper's captain then I get to have the cabin" Mabel concluded

"Ok fine, that makes sense I guess" Dipper admitted "You can have the cabin"

"Can't have any guys spying on me after all" Mabel agreed "Except Wirt, he can spy on me any day!"

"Ewww! Mabel!" Dipper burst out "Gross!"

Wirt blushed red "No I..I wouldn't, I'd never.."

"I know you wouldn't silly!" Mabel laughed, ruffling his hair "Cause you're a gentleman! That's why you're so handsome. I'm just teasing you."

"Th..thank you" Wirt stammered with a grin.

The boys picked out their hammocks as Mabel got settled in the cabin. Dipper picked the one near the stairs and Wirt took the one in the middle. They had to lower the one on the far end so that Greg could climb in it. Wirt left his cone and cape in the hammock and rolled up his sleeves, the day was getting hot and below decks was already stuffy.

Dipper took off his vest and hat before shuffling around in the storage area at the rear of the ship, looking for something. "Here it is!" He called holding up a thick knotted rope attached to a board.

"What's that for Captain Dipper?" Greg asked, scampering alongside him as he walked above deck and to the end of the ship "Is it a swing? Can we attach it to the pole?"

"It's not a swing Greg" Dipper answered, "And it's a mast not a pole. And you don't really have to call me captain..."

"Yes sir captain!" Greg replied, throwing up a salute and knocking the tea kettle off his head onto the deck "oops"

Dipper tied the end of the rope onto the railing and threw the board into the water. The knotted rope began sliding in after it. "One, two, three, four, and five!" he counted, looking at his watch.

"Five knots" he said, pulling a notebook out of his backpack and writing the time and date next to a large number five on one of the pages.

"What does that mean?"

"It means how fast we're going" Dipper explained, pulling the board back in from the water.

"Can I do it?" Greg asked, grabbing the wet rope.

"Sure, go ahead, just don't untie it or we'll get lost"

"I won't" Greg promised as he pushed the board over the rail into the sea and began pulling it back in.

Wirt came up from below deck.

"Let me see the map First Mate" Dipper asked "We need to chart a course"

"Right on captain!" Wirt said handing it to him.

Dipper sat down next to the wheel, spreading the map out on the deck. He pulled out his compass and laid it on the map, with north facing south.

Wirt stood ready at the wheel. "We need to turn to port" Dipper instructed and the boat listed gently as Wirt turned the wheel left.

"That's good" Dipper said when the ship had turned far enough "Next stop Crocodile Bay!"

"Crocodile Bay!" Wirt and Greg cheered.

Inside the cabin Mabel changed into a t shirt, carefully packing the glittery sweater away in the backpack before heading up to see what the guys were up to.

Wirt was at the wheel and Dipper lay on his stomach next to him, checking his watch and the compass regularly before scribbling with a pencil in his notebook.

"What are you two nerds doing?" Mabel asked, standing over him.

"It's called dead reckoning" Dipper replied

"Sound's creepy"

"It's like this" he said, showing her a series entries he had drawn on the notebook "First I write down the direction we are going on the compass and the ship's speed, five knots, then the time. As long as I keep doing that I have a record of how far we are going and in what direction, I just need to multiply the knots by how long between entries. Then I can draw it on the map to see where we are, like this"

He pulled a ruler out of his backpack and began drawing line of dots with the pencil lightly on the map, starting from the port and then angling down towards the islands "three hours at five knots is means fifteen dots, I guess"

"You guess?"

"Well it's not an exact science Mabel, if I had time to measure the distance the ship covered at this speed..."

"Yawn!" Mabel interrupted "Sound's complicated, just don't get us lost"

"I won't"

"That's what you said last time"

"I'm trying my best Mabel, I'm just a kid you know" he replied tersely, concentrating hard on charting the course.

"That's why Wirt should be in charge"

"Wirt's a kid too" Dipper pointed out

"Kid? I'm in high school!" Wirt objected "You're the kid!"

They sailed on until dusk. The sun set slowly, coloring the water in orange and purple. Mabel prepared some sandwiches with the food Ransom had given them and the four ate hungrily, watching the spectacular sunset.

"This is way better than hanging out with Grunkle Stan putting up some dumb tourist signs" Mabel said.

"Yah, I guess" Dipper agreed "It feels like forever ago. I hope if we find the Shadow Bandit, when we find the Shadow Bandit, that we can get the journal and go home again. Grunkle Stan must be really worried."

"I don't know" Mabel said quietly to Dipper, looking at Wirt "I kind of wish we could stay here forever"

When they were done eating the kids went back below deck as the dusk turned into night and stars twinkled into the dark sky. The waning crescent of the moon shined down dimly on the ship as it drifted forward on the course Wirt had set.

Mabel blew out the lantern lighting the space below deck, leaving it in inky darkness. Dipper fell asleep easily to the sound of the waves as the ship rocked his hammock gently back and forth.

* * *

Crash! A deafening sound reverberated through the ship.

"Oh my gosh!" Wirt shouted, startled out of his sleep and falling out of his hammock onto the floor with a thunk. "What was that!"

Sheets of rain poured down the hatch from above deck, illuminated in flashes from lightening up above, splashing and running down the floor.

"What was that!" Mabel blurted out as she opened the cabin door.

"It's a storm!" Wirt answered, buttoning on his cape.

"Wow! That came out of nowhere" Dipper exclaimed as he threw on his vest and climbed out of his hammock.

"We should have set a watch" Wirt said irritably.

"I told you we should have made Wirt captain!" Mabel whined

"Stop it already!" Dipper shouted "Just cause you have a crush on him doesn't mean he's better than me!"

Tears started in Mabel's eyes and she ran into the cabin, splashing through the rapidly collecting water and slamming the door behind her.

"Wait! Mabel! I didn't mean it!" Dipper called after her, knocking on the door.

"Dipper lets go!" Wirt shouted from the stairway "We have to take the sail down before it rips off!"

Dipper turned away from the door and followed Wirt up the ladder. Up above the once empty sky was now covered in low gray clouds. Brilliant lightning beams arched across the sky, shining on the boat like an irregular strobe light. Heavy waves knocked the against the side of the Jackdaw with heavy thuds, dropping the ship up and down harshly on their crests.

Wirt pushed through the wind to the rail where the sail was attached to the hull and undid the knot.

"Come on!" He said, climbing up the rope ladder on the side of the mast, his cape billowing behind him theatrically.

Dipper untied his end of the sail and started up the rope ladder behind Wirt. The rough wet rope jerked forcefully back and forth as the sail above flapped in the wind. He ascended the slippery ropes, grabbing on as hard as he could. The movement nearly threw him off a couple times before he reached the top of the mast, with Wirt above him.

_Don't look down, don't look down_ he kept repeating to himself as he handed the rope to Wirt to tie off. The mast swung as the ship pitched down the crest of a wave.

"Done!" Wirt shouted, heading back down. When the boys reached the bottom they collapsed in relief against the bottom of the mast as waves of cold salty water crashed over railing, soaking them to the bone. Greg crawled up out of the hatch in the middle of the ship, trying to catch rain in his teapot.

"Greg! Get back below!" Wirt yelled at him through the thunderclaps.

"Wirt the map!" Dipper said, alarmed "Where is it?"

"I thought you had it!"

The two boys stumbled along the rolling deck towards the wheel, panicked and looking for any sign off the map.

"There it is!" Wirt shouted. The waterlogged map was stuck to the wheel.

"Thank goodness!" Dipper said, retrieving it. "I need to get a reading, we're blowing off course!" He started pulling his way along the rail, looking for the knotted rope. "Where is it!"

"I untied the rope!" Greg's shrill voice called over the storm "I'm sorry!"

"What rope?!"

"The knotted one!"

"What!" Dipper shouted, grabbing Greg by the shirt collar and pushed him up hard against the railing "How could you! Why would you do that! I told you not to!"

"I don't know!" Greg wailed

"Get off him!" Wirt yelled grabbing Dipper off Greg and throwing him down forcefully.

Another wave washed over the desk, crashing down on Wirt as he pinned Dipper down on the wet deck. Dipper slipped out of his grasp and scrambled to his feet. Wirt stood across from him, balling his fists.

"Guys stop!" Mabel cried, jumping between them out of nowhere.

"He's doomed us!" Dipper screamed "We're doomed! Lost forever! Don't you get it!"

A deafening crack of lightening split the sky above them illuminating the sea in a white flash.

"Don't touch my brother!" Wirt growled, starting towards Dipper again.

"Wait!" Mabel shouted, pushing them apart and pointing out to sea "Look!"

The boys stared out across the waves.

"We made it?" Wirt said disbelievingly, lowering his fists.

There, at the horizon, silhouetted against the grey storm clouds, was the dark shape of the islands.


	12. Episode 12: Shipwrecked

Wirt and Dipper lowered their fists, their quarrel temporarily forgotten in the urgency of the moment.

"We have to turn or we're going to miss it!" Dipper hollered over the storm "Come on!"

Greg was still crying, holding his teapot sadly by his side, Mabel reached for his hand as the boys slipped and stumbled across the bouncing deck towards the stern of the ship. "It'll be ok" Mabel said, taking him back below.

Wirt reached the wheel first, gripping onto the slippery wood as hard as he could and turning it in the direction of land. The handles shuddered and vibrated as the rudder cut through the water against the storm waves.

A large wave crashed into the side of the ship, pushing it up onto it's crest before dropping it through the empty air.

The wheel span violently as the Jackdaw smashed into the water below the wave sideways, jerking out of Wirt's grip and cracking the back of his hand on the handle above.

"Ahh Oww!" Wirt cried, jumping back and bending over, clutching his injured hand.

"I got it!" Dipper shouted, grabbing onto the spinning wheel with both hands and bringing it to a stop. The wheel rocked from side to side, nearly lifting him off the deck.

Wirt grabbed onto the wheel on the other side with his unhurt hand, pulling on it with all his weight. The two kids held the wheel steady until the Jackdaw finally turned it's stern to the waves with the wind at it's back, bouncing up and down on the crests as the island rapidly grew bigger on the horizon

Down below Mabel and Greg splashed through the accumulating water poured in by the waves.

"This is deep" Greg remarked, the water was almost up to his chest.

"Be careful Greg" Mabel urged as she pushed open the door to the cabin and got her backpack out. She spotted Dipper's floating next to his hammock and grabbed it as well before stuffing Dipper and Wirt's hats into it.

"Come on, lets go help!" she said, "Hold my hand Greg"

Greg took her hand and held it tightly as they climbed back up the stairs to into the storm. Mabel shut the hatch behind them.

The island was growing nearer as the waves propelled the boat towards it, a thin line of beach with palm trees beyond was visible in the flashes of lightening. Wirt and Dipper were holding onto the wheel together as the shoreline approached.

Ahead of them the waves broke on several large rocks which emerged out of the darkness, spraying white foam into the air.

"Look out for the rocks!" Mabel yelled at the top of her lungs to the boys.

Wirt and Dipper turned the wheel sharply and the ship tilted to starboard, narrowly avoiding one of the rocks and sliding the stern right into another with a heavy thud. The impact jarred the boat sideways underfoot, knocking them all to the deck.

The wheel span in circles again before Dipper grabbed it again and it turned easily in his hands.

"The rudder's broken!" he yelled in a panic " We're going to crash!"

"Oh no!" Greg shrieked and covered his eyes.

The ship was caught in the whitecaps, unable to steer, and speeding towards the rocky beach.

"There's got to be some way to fix it, there's gotta be..." Dipper said desperately turning the wheel back and forth.

The beach was approaching fast.

"Forget it Dipper, we've got to swim for it! " Wirt shouted over the storm "It's our only chance!"

"Wait! I've got a better idea!" Mabel yelled, running and slipping over the wet deck towards the front of the ship.

"Mabel where are you going!" Dipper called after her.

"Boom! Grappling hook!" Mabel shouted triumphantly, yanking the grappling hook out of her backpack and brandishing it in the air. She reached into Dipper's backpack and pulled out some rope, wrapping it around and around the rail before tying it around the handle of the device.

The Jackdaw passed a large rock as it washed sideways towards the jagged beach. Mabel trained her aim on the rock as it passed by the bow, and squeezed the trigger at the last second. The steel hook flew out of the tube with a loud swish, trailing a line of wire behind it.

It clanged against the wet rock, slid a bit, then caught.

"Hold on!" She shouted as the rope and wire snapped taut. The ship rotated around the bow as the rail groaned under the strain, leaving it facing the incoming waves.

"Way to go Mabel!" Dipper, Wirt, and Greg cheered gleefully.

The stern of the ship was just a few yards from the beach, anchored in place by the push of the waves. Dipper scanned the narrow beach and shadowy rocks. A ways inland a dark cave opened in the side of the cliff.

"Look there" Dipper said pointing to it, "We can wait out the storm in there."

The rain was still falling heavily, though the lightening had given way to the occasional distant thunder.

"Lets go!" he said, putting on his backpack and standing by the railing.

Wirt scooped up Greg and put him on his back "When I say so hold your breath and close your eyes, don't let it out until I say to ok?" he instructed "Hold on as tight as you can, understand?"

Greg nodded in agreement.

"Now!" Wirt said and Greg scrunched his eyes shut as hard as he could, filling his cheeks with air and holding onto his brother for dear life.

The four kids dove into the freezing salty waves. Wirt swam for the shore, Greg weighing him down as he tried to keep above water.

Just as his arms were about to give out he felt the sea floor under his feet and stood up, wading forward through the neck deep water onto the rocky beach.

"You can let it out and open your eyes now" he told Greg, who let the air out of his cheeks with a gasp. Dipper and Mabel waded ashore next to him.

They trudged through the wet sand towards the cave. It was shallower than it had appeared from the boat, but still deep enough to escape the pouring rain and wind.

There was nothing within but a couple pieces of driftwood and dry sand. The four kids huddled together at the back of the cave, completely soaked and shivering in the cold air.

"It's c..c..cold" Greg chattered

Dipper a gathered the pieces of driftwood together in the middle of the cave. "I think I have some matches somewhere" he said, ruffling through his backpack, everything inside was wet.

'I'm afraid not" he concluded dejectedly.

"We can use this" Wirt said, pulling a flint and steel out of his pocket and handing it to Dipper with his good hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Dipper asked, tearing some dry bark off the driftwood to use as kindling. He struck the flint on the steel, sending a shower of sparks onto the bark.

"It was by the fireplace in Ransom's lighthouse" Wirt confessed as Dipper blew on the kindling, fanning the sparks into a small flame. "I figured it might come in handy"

"Thank goodness for you Wirt!" Mabel exclaimed "What else have you got in there you little thief?"

She reached over and began frisking him playfully.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Wirt snickered as she patted him down.

The driftwood caught fire and a bright hot flame began warming the cave.

"Thanks Captain Dipper!" Greg cheered

"Not too close Greg" Wirt cautioned as his little brother sat down next to the fire.

"We left all the food on the ship" Dipper realized, his stomach was grumbling.

"Well nothing we can do about that now " Wirt pointed out "Unless you want to go for a swim"

"No thanks" Dipper replied, looking at the storm outside with a dispirited expression.

"At least we can dry our clothes now" Mabel said optimistically.

She grabbed a long stick of driftwood sitting by the entrance of the cave and propped it up between the walls over the fire.

They all took off their wet shoes and socks and placed them around the fire. Mabel pulled her pink sweater out of the backpack, wrung the cold water out, and put it over the stick.

Dipper took off his vest and shirt and placed them over the stick to dry, Wirt did the same with his cape and shirt.

"I lost my hat" Dipper added, even more sadly than before.

"No you didn't!" Mabel announced, pulling Wirt and Dipper's hats out of her backpack.

"Thanks Mabel, you're the best" Dipper said, brightening up a bit and shaking the water off the hat before putting it carefully by the base of the logs.

They sat silently as the water from their wet clothes drip hissing into the crackling flames. The cave was very warm now, sweet smelling smoke from the fire blew out of the entrance into the storm beyond.

Greg was trying unsuccessfully to build a sand castle, his frog watched from inside the teapot next to him.

"Listen Wirt..." Dipper said eventually, "I'm sorry about what I did to Greg. You were right to defend him. I was just panicked, I feel really really terrible about it,"

"It's Ok" Greg piped up "We forgive you! Right Wirt?"

"Well" Wirt said hesitantly "We're all stuck out here together whether we like it or not, so no point in staying mad I guess"

"If you want to hit me or something you can go ahead" Dipper offered glumly.

"No need for that" Wirt replied "If Greg forgives you so do I"

"Unless it really would make you feel better." he added with a wink.

"I'm fine" Dipper said, extending his hand "Still friends?"

"Still friends!" Wirt confirmed, shaking his hand.

"That looks like it hurts" Mabel remarked, indicating the bruise on the back of Wirt's hand.

"Yah, it does" Wirt admitted, touching it carefully "I don't think it's broken though"

Mabel dug around in her backpack and pulled out a long piece of ribbon. "Here you go" she said, taking hold of Wirt's hand and wrapping it gently in the cloth. "Does that feel better?"

"A bit, thanks"

Mabel gave him a small kiss on the hand and sat back, staring at Wirt intently in the firelight.

"Mabel, don't be awkward" Dipper sighed.

"I think these are just about dry" Wirt said, blushing. He took his shirt down from over the fire and put it back on.

Mabel took her sweater down from the stick as well and put it on, it was warm and fluffy. She handed Dipper his clothes and Wirt his cape.

"Do you feel that?" Dipper asked as he reached for his shirt.

"What?" Wirt asked.

"There's a draft"

He ran his hands over the rocks at the back of the cave and put his face against one spot. "Here!"

Wirt crawled over next to him and did the same. "You're right!"

There was a small gap between two of the stones and a stream of cold air came from beyond.

"What does that mean?" Mabel asked

"This isn't the end of the cave, there's a space beyond" Dipper explained "Mabel, hand me the stick"

Dipper put his shirt back on and then stuck the end of the stick in the crack behind the rock and pulled. It moved slightly.

"Help me move it"

The four kids pulled on the large rock, using the stick as leverage, and moving it gradually away from the cave wall. Behind it was an opening in the rock a few feet wide, leading to a narrow dark tunnel.


End file.
